The present invention generally relates to the field of electrical wire testing and, more particularly, to methods and systems for detecting and locating damage in a wire using broadband impedance.
Damaged wiring can lead to detrimental conditions, such as short circuits. When the damaged wiring is located in, for example, commercial or military aircraft, space vehicles, or nuclear power plants, the damaged wiring can lead to serious problems.
Conventional approaches for determining whether a wire is damaged include hi-pot and wire insulation tests. Although these conventional methods are effective to detect damage in a wire, such as short circuits using the hi-pot test or damaged insulation using the wire insulation test, the conventional tests can break or damage the wire. For example, to perform a hi-pot test, a high voltage of 500V is typically applied to the wire, which can damage a frail wire or thin conductor. Further, conventional approaches determine whether a wire is damaged, but fail to provide a location of the damage.